Boys’ Achievement: A Synthesis of the Data

Overview 

This report provides a synthesis of the findings about the educational achievement of boys in New Zealand.  The report updates our knowledge of boys’ participation, engagement and achievement in schooling, in particular, secondary schooling.

The results from national and international assessment surveys show that gender gaps in favour of girls are present in reading in New Zealand (and throughout the world).  There is also evidence that boys do less well in writing.  These skills are fundamental to full participation in a knowledge based society and thus the relative underperformance of boys is of concern.  In other areas, such as mathematics and science, the results for boys and girls are similar and, in some cases, boys out-perform girls overall.

Contents 

1. Boys’ Achievement: A Synthesis of the Data
2. Executive Summary
3. Chapter 1 - Participation in Early Childhood Education
4. Chapter 2 - School Participation
5. Chapter 3 - School Disengagement
6. Chapter 4 - Participation in Reading Recovery
7. Chapter 5 - Achievement
8. Chapter 6 - Attainment of NCEA Qualifications
9. Chapter 7 - Highest Attainment of School Leavers
10. Chapter 8 - Longer Term Outcomes
11. Discussion / Conclusions

Download

Success for Boys Leaflet (PDF v1.4, 251 KB). This leaflet summarises the key findings from Boys' Achievement: A Synthesis of the Data and encourages principals and teachers to examine how their schools are engaging with boys and responding to their needs.

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